The air is getting chillier and the trees a little more bare, which can only mean one thing: it’s Halloween. Most students have been more concerned about making it to fall break--Halloween was the last thing on our minds. Now it’s just two weeks away, and nobody’s even turned on a scary movie yet. Halloween may look a little different on a college campus, but you do not have to completely lose the spooky spirit.
The quickest way to feel more festive is to decorate your room. My roommate and I made a paper chain of ghosts, and that immediately brightened up the place. Other ways to make your dorm more festive include getting a cinnamon broom, orange fairy lights, or a Halloween-themed fluffy blanket. Dorm room ambiance makes all the difference. The traditional Jack o’ Lantern isn’t exactly optimal for residential halls, however. They rot too quickly, are messy to carve, and attract bugs already trying to escape the cold. You do not have to be without pumpkin décor, though. A great alternative to carving pumpkins is painting them, which I argue is easier and more creatively fulfilling. Consider: All you need is a few small bottles of acrylic paint, a brush, and a dream. You don’t need to bury your arm up to its elbow in pumpkin guts or give yourself a hand cramp trying to carve a simple triangle. And once your masterpiece is complete, you can leave it outside your door for months without fear of it rotting if you wanted.
If you still have the urge to carve a pumpkin, BCM is hosting pumpkin carving in the Jewel Box on October 25. It’s inadvisable to keep the pumpkin indoors, though, unless you want to scare off guests with the truly terrifying stench of moldy vegetables.
For those looking for some post-midterms scare-apy, there are horror movies abound on every streaming platform. There are also a few new horror movies in theatres, such as Terrifier 3, Smile 2, and my personal favorite, The Substance. Evans Hall is hosting Berry Dismembered on October 19th. Berry Dismembered is an annual horror movie screening. This year, 21 movies of various horror subgenres (slasher, religious, etc.) are being shown. Who can worry about what grade they got when they’re making sure a creepy nun isn’t looming in the corner of their dark dorm room? If horror isn’t for you, though, there are plenty of parody Halloween movies out there—kid’s movies can still be well-written and interesting to watch. You can never go wrong with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
If you want to be able to drop creepy Berry factoids at the D-Hall table, the Oak Hill Museum is putting on Haunted History Tours from the 24th to the 26th. During these tours, you learn about the skeletons in Berry’s closet while visiting various buildings on campus. There are countless opportunities on campus to be festive this Halloween. You don’t have to binge watch the Saw movies or dress up like murderous clowns with your friends to get in the spooky mood; sometimes all it takes is a cinnamon stick in your room or a pumpkin pie slice to make it truly feel like October.
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